How Global Warming Could Mean the End of Summer

It's a bitter irony. Just a month ago, the Philippines placed first on among nations participating in Earth Hour. Millions of Filipinos turned off the electricity in their homes in order to join the fight in global warming and climate change.

But no one expected the threat to make it presence known so soon.

For two weeks, the Philippines has been experiencing a slew of rain showers and thunderstorms. It's already exceeded it's annual cap of 25mm of rainwater, and the formation of two tropical depressions has ushered in the start of the rainy season.

A troubling concept, since May happens to be the height of the Philippine summer.

This change in weather comes just days after the Asian Development Bank released it's findings on climate change. In a report titled"The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review", it details how Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam could see it's combined GDP drop by a staggering 6.7% a year if it doesn't reduce it's greenhouse emissions. This number is more than that of the current financial crisis, and it can do more than cripple the regions economy.

A two percent drop in GDP usually corresponds to a meter rise in sea level. That because the resulting flood causes a shortage of fresh water, damaging it's agriculture and fishing industry, along with reduced tourism and added energy concerns. Not only that, but an annual drop of 6% means a rise of 12 feet of water every year. With it's sprawling coastlines, it would put several communities under water, and leave millions of people without a home.

The Philippines Fights Back

The victory achieved during the last Earth Hour may have been short lived, but the Philippines is certainly not giving up.

In an attempt to reduce it's carbon emission, the countries number one means of transport has undergone a green facelift. The e-jeepney, a reincarnation of the old WWII American jeep, is an electric jeepney that seats up to twenty one people. It was featured in last years Ecopolis, a six part series on the Discovery channel. UC Berkley Energy Professor and Nobel Prize winner Dan Kammen chose the e-jeepney as the best transport initiative designed to reduce harmful emissions in cities of the future. Not only is it electric, but it draws it's energy from charging plants that's powered by methane harvested from city landfills.

A few units have are already on the road, along with e-tricylces, the perfect solutions for short rides. The cities combustion engine jeepneys and buses have also made a switch to bio-diesel, drastically reducing their emissions.Transportation may just be one part of the problem, but it certainly is a promising start.

But this regional solution is just a small answer to a global problem. Unless we make a concerted to reduce our carbon footprint, these four countries could be the first to succumb to climate change, with the rest of the world soon to follow.